Time interleaver, time deinterleaver, time interleaving method, and time deinterleaving method

ABSTRACT

A convolutional interleaver included in a time interleaver, which performs convolutional interleaving includes: a first switch that switches a connection destination of an input of the convolutional interleaver to one end of one of a plurality of branches; a FIFO memories provided in some of the plurality of branches except one branch, wherein a number of FIFO memories is different among the plurality of branches; and a second switch that switches a connection destination of an output of the convolutional interleaver to another end of one of the plurality of branches. The first and second switches switch the connection destination when the plurality of cells as many as the codewords per frame have passed, by switching a corresponding branch of the connection destination sequentially and repeatedly among the plurality of branches.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/559,939 filed Sep. 4, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/152,966, filed Oct. 5, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No.10,454,841, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 15/886,068, filed Feb.1, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,122,644, which is a continuation of Ser.No. 15/092,696, filed Apr. 7, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,935,890, whichis a continuation of PCT International Application No.PCT/JP2015/004609, filed Sep. 10, 2015, which is based on EuropeanPatent Application No. 14186891.9 filed on Sep. 29, 2014, the entirecontent of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application is based on European Patent Application No. 14186891.9filed on Sep. 29, 2014, the entire content of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

The present disclosure relates to a digital communication field, moreparticularly to a time interleaver that time-interleaves a plurality ofcells and a time deinterleaver corresponding to the time interleaver.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, in a transmitter including a bit-interleaved coding andmodulation (BICM) encoder in which quasi-cyclic low-density parity-checkcode (QC LDPC) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) are used, atime interleaver that time-interleaves a plurality of cells generated bythe BICM encoder is known. And a time deinterleaver corresponding to thetime interleaver in a receiver is known.

As an example of the time interleaver and the time deinterleaver, ahybrid interleaver that performs hybrid interleaving, in which blockinterleaving and convolutional interleaving are used in combination asdescribed in a DVB-NGH specification (NPL 1), and a corresponding hybriddeinterleaver are known.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

PTL 1: WO2010/061184

Non-Patent Literatures

NPL 1: DVB-NGH specification DVB BlueBook A160 (Draft ETSI EN 3 03 105)“Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Next Generation broadcasting systemto Handheld physical layer specification (DVB-NGH)”, November 2012

NPL 2: DVB-T2 implementation guidelines ETSI TS 102 831 “Digital VideoBroadcasting (DVB); Implementation guidelines for a second generationdigital terrestrial television broadcasting system (DVB-T2)”, v1.2.1,August 2012

NPL 3: DVB-C2 specification ETSI EN 302 769 “Digital Video Broadcasting(DVB); Frame structure channel coding and modulation for a secondgeneration digital transmission system for cable systems (DVB-C 2)”,v1.2.1, April 2011

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, in a time interleaverthat performs time interleaving that includes convolutional interleavingon a plurality of cells, wherein a convolutional interleaver thatperforms the convolutional interleaving comprises: a first switch thatswitches a connection destination of an input of the convolutionalinterleaver to one end of one of a plurality of branches, a number ofwhich is same as a number of interleaving units on which a cell to beinterleaved is disposed; FIFO (first in, first out) memories provided insome of the plurality of branches except one branch, wherein a number ofFIFO memories is different among the plurality of branches except theone branch; and a second switch that switches a connection destinationof an output of the convolutional interleaver to another end of one ofthe plurality of branches, and wherein the first switch switches theconnection destination of the input of the convolutional interleaverwhen the plurality of cells as many as the codewords per frame havepassed, by switching a corresponding branch of the connectiondestination sequentially and repeatedly among the plurality of branches,and wherein the second switch switches the connection destination of theoutput of the convolutional interleaver when the plurality of cells asmany as the codewords per frame have passed, by switching acorresponding branch of the connection destination sequentially andrepeatedly among the plurality of branches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of atransmitter-side communication circuit including bit-interleaved codingand modulation.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an outline example of a logical expressionof data input to a time interleaver.

FIG. 3A is a view illustrating an outline example of a time-interleaverlogical operation based on a DVB-NGH specification.

FIG. 3B is a view illustrating an outline example of thetime-interleaver logical operation based on the DVB-NGH specification.

FIG. 3C is a view illustrating an outline example of thetime-interleaver logical operation based on the DVB-NGH specification.

FIG. 4A is a view illustrating an outline example of atime-deinterleaver logical operation based on the DVB-NGH specification.

FIG. 4B is a view illustrating an outline example of thetime-deinterleaver logical operation based on the DVB-NGH specification.

FIG. 4C is a view illustrating an outline example of thetime-deinterleaver logical operation based on the DVB-NGH specification.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an implementation example of atime interleaver according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6A is a view illustrating an outline of an operation example of acolumn-row block interleaver in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6B is a view illustrating an outline of an operation example of ablock interleaver in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6C is a view illustrating an outline of another operation exampleof the block interleaver in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6D is a view illustrating an outline of still another operationexample of the block interleaver in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6E is a view illustrating an outline of an operation example of aninput-side switch in a convolutional interleaver in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6F is a view illustrating an outline of an operation example of theinput-side switch in the convolutional interleaver in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6G is a view illustrating an outline of an operation example of theconvolutional interleaver in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of animplementation example of a time deinterleaver corresponding to the timeinterleaver in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating an outline of an implementation example ofa block interleaver according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an outline of a simulation result.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of anotherimplementation example of the time interleaver of the exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of animplementation example of a time deinterleaver corresponding to the timeinterleaver in FIG. 10.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

(Discussion Items of the Inventors)

The DVB-NGH specification (NPL 1) only mentions time-interleavedtransmission sequences for a plurality of cells, and does not describesan actual method for generating the transmission sequences.

The present disclosure discloses a method and a device for specificallyimplementing a time interleaver and a corresponding time deinterleaver.

An application target of the present disclosure is not limited tobroadcasting based on DVB-NGH, the coding scheme is not limited to QCLDPC coding, and the modulation scheme is not limited to QAM.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of atransmitter-side communication circuit that uses bit-interleaved codingand modulation (BICM).

Transmitter 100 comprises input processing unit 110, BICM encoder 120,time interleaver 130, modulator 140, RF (radio frequency) front end 150,and antenna 160.

Input processing unit 110 converts a format of an input bit stream intoa predetermined-length block called a baseband frame. BICM encoder 120converts each baseband frame into a cell having a plurality of complexvalues, and outputs the cell. The cell having the plurality of complexvalues are further processed by a circuit including at least timeinterleaver 130, modulator 140, and RF front end 150. Time interleaver130 performs time interleaving on output of BICM encoder 120. Modulator140 performs processing in which, for example, orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation is used on output oftime interleaver 130, and typically performs time interleaving andfrequency interleaving in order to improve diversity. RF front end 150converts a digital signal output from modulator 140 into an analog RF(radio frequency) signal, and performs power amplification of the analogRF signal. RF front end 150 outputs the power-amplified analog RF signalto antenna 160, and the power-amplified analog RF signal is output fromantenna 160 as a radio wave.

Referring to FIG. 1, time interleaver 130 is disposed between BICMencoder 120 and modulator 140.

Time interleaver 130 is used to reduce a burst error. Actually, a largenumber of cells existing in a neighborhood of an original data streamare not influenced by the burst error in the case that the plurality ofcells is interleaved with respect to the time under presence of theburst error. Accordingly, the time interleaving facilitates restorationof loss data, for example in the case that a forward error correctioncode technique is used.

Some time interleaving technologies are well known in communicationsystem technology fields such as DVB-C2, DVB-T2, and DVB-NGH.Multi-stage interleaving is used in almost systems. A logicalinterpretation hidden behind all the time interleaving methods is torearrange the plurality of cells across some codewords.

For example, the time interleaving used in the DVB-T2 is row-columnblock interleaving. Conceptually, the row-column block interleaving is amethod for writing the plurality of cells in a column direction(column-wise) in a matrix and reading the plurality of written cells ina row direction (row-wise) from the matrix.

Convolutional interleaving is another time interleaving. Theconvolutional interleaving is a method for writing the plurality ofcells in a large-size FIFO (first in, first out) shift register. Theconvolutional interleaving can implement a time interleaving depth equalto that of the block interleaving with a half memory size of the blockinterleaving.

In the DVB-NGH specification (NPL 1), a hybrid interleaving schemehaving a combination of the block interleaving and the convolutionalinterleaving is used in the time interleaving. Conceptually, the DVB-NGHtime interleaver convolutional-interleaves a plurality of blocks each ofwhich includes the plurality of cells. At this point, one block iscalled an interleaving unit (IU).

The combination of the block interleaving and the convolutionalinterleaving is mainly selected to enable time-frequency-slicing (TFS),and the TFS is a promising technology of increasing a multiplexingcapacity.

Time interleaver 130 and a time deinterleaver corresponding to timeinterleaver will be described below.

FIG. 2 illustrates an outline example of a logical expression of datainput to time interleaver 130. However, one frame 204 is illustrated inFIG. 2.

Frame 204 includes a plurality of codewords 202, and each codeword 202includes a plurality of cells 201. At this point, the number ofcodewords per frame is written as N_(FEC_TI), and the number of cellsper codeword is written as N_(cells). In the example of FIG. 2,N_(FEC_TI)=2 and N_(cells)=12 are illustrated, and each frame 204includes N_(FEC_TI) times N_(cells)=2×12=24 cells.

Each frame 204 is logically divided into a plurality of interleavingunits 203. At this point, the number of interleaving units per frame iswritten as N_(IU). In the example of FIG. 2, N_(IU)=3 is illustrated.

A data structure in FIG. 2 is used to reveal how time interleaver 130operates. The present disclosure is not limited to the data structureillustrated in FIG. 2, but implemented by other numerical valuesN_(FEC_TI), N_(cells), and N_(IU).

Although a minimum square in FIG. 2 corresponds to the cell, thereference mark 201 is partially added only to the square for the purposeof simplification. In two characters of each cell, the first characteris a value that is conveniently provided in order to identify thecodeword, and the second character is a value that is convenientlyprovided in order to identify the cell in each codeword. The same holdstrue for other drawings.

In the DVB-NGH standard, the input and output of time interleaver 130and the input and output of the corresponding time deinterleaver arespecified as illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3C and FIGS. 4A to 4C.

Time interleaver 130 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3Ato 3C.

FIG. 3A illustrates an outline example of an initial operation of timeinterleaver 130 based on the DVB-NGH specification. The initialoperation of time interleaver 130 includes processing ofblock-interleaving the codeword in which the interleaving unit isgenerated.

In the example of FIG. 3A, three consecutive input frames IN(m−2),IN(m−1), and IN(m) are indicated as the input to delay unit 310 of timeinterleaver 130. The input frame is input to delay unit 310 in thedescription order of IN(m−2), IN(m−1), and IN(m).

In each of input frames IN(m−2), IN(m−1), and IN(m), a plurality ofinterleaving units IU0, IU1, and IU2 are subjected to time delaysdifferent from one another by delay unit 310. The time delay includes atime delay “0”.

In the example of FIG. 3A, each interleaving unit is subjected to thefollowing time delay.

Non-existence of a delay line in the corresponding row of delay unit 310shows that interleaving unit IU0 of each input frame is output withoutdelay.

Existence of one delay line 310-11 in the corresponding row of delayunit 310 shows that interleaving unit IU1 of each input frame is outputwith a delay for one interleaving unit.

The existence of two delay lines 310-21 and 310-22 in the correspondingrow of delay unit 310 shows that interleaving unit IU2 of each inputframe is output with the delay for two interleaving units.

In the example of FIG. 3A, the output of delay unit 310 in the initialoperation of time interleaver 130 is indicated by intermediate framesINT(n−2), INT(n−1), IN(n), INT(n+1), and INT(n+2). The intermediateframe is output from delay unit 310 in the description order ofINT(n−2), INT(n−1), INT(n), INT(n+1), and INT(n+2).

Only intermediate frame INT(n) is complete in the example of FIG. 3A. Onthe other hand, in the preceding and subsequent intermediate frames, aninput frame (not illustrated) is input to delay unit 310, subjected tothe processing by delay unit 310, and output from delay unit 310,whereby the input frame becomes complete.

Delay lines 310-11, 310-21, and 310-22 of delay unit 310 are operatedwith respect to a cell group, namely, the interleaving unit, but notoperated with respect to a single cell such as typical convolutionalinterleaving.

FIGS. 3B and 3C illustrate an outline example of a second operation oftime interleaver 130 based on the DVB-NGH specification. The secondoperation of time interleaver 130 includes processing of horizontallystacking the plurality of interleaving units 203 from the left to theright with respect to each intermediate frame and then reading the cellin a row (row by row) direction.

More particularly, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, interleaving units IU0,IU1, and IU2 are horizontally stacked from the left to the light bystacking unit 320 of time interleaver 130 with respect to intermediateframe INT(n). As illustrated in FIG. 3C, the cells of the stackedinterleaving units IU0, IU1, and IU2 are read and output in the row (rowby row) direction by read unit 330 of time interleaver 130. An outputresult is expressed by output string OUT(n) in FIG. 3C, and the cellsare output in the description order of 40, 50, 24, . . . , 19, 42, . . ., 37, 0B, and 1B.

In output string OUT(n), it is seen that the plurality of cells spreadlargely and advantageously using the codeword in a time interleavingdepth. This is achieved by the stacking operation of stacking unit 320.

In the case that a receiver receives a cell stream corresponding tooutput string OUT(n), the time deinterleaver of the receiver performs areverse operation of the operation performed by time interleaver 130. Inshort, the plurality of cells are divided into the plurality ofinterleaving units, and the plurality of interleaving units areperpendicularly stacked from the top to the bottom in order toreconstruct the frame, and subjected to the time delay.

A time deinterleaver will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4Ato 4C.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an outline example of the initial operationof the time deinterleaver based on the DVB-NGH specification. Theinitial operation of the time deinterleaver includes processing ofreceiving input stream IN(n) corresponding to output string OUT(n)output from time interleaver 130 on the transmitter side.

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the plurality of cells of input stream IN(n)are input to separating unit 410 in the description order of 40, 50, 24,. . . , 19, 42, . . . , 37, 0B, and 1B, and reconstructed into theinterleaving unit by separating unit 410.

As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the plurality of interleaving units are inputto destacking unit 420, and reconstructed into the frame by destackingunit 420.

FIG. 4C illustrates an outline example of the second operation of thetime deinterleaver based on the DVB-NGH specification.

In the example of FIG. 4C, five consecutive intermediate framesINT(n−2), INT(n−1), INT(n), INT(n+1), and INT(n+2) are indicated as theinput to delay unit 430 of the time deinterleaver. The intermediateframes are input to delay unit 430 in the description order of INT(n−2),INT(n−1), INT(n), INT(n+1), and INT(n+2). For convenience, someintermediate frames are incompletely illustrated in FIG. 4C.

Delay unit 430 performs the reverse time delay of the time delayperformed by delay unit 310 on the plurality of interleaving units. Inthe example of FIG. 4C, the existence of two delay lines 430-01 and430-02 in the corresponding row of delay unit 430 shows thatinterleaving unit IU0 of each intermediate frame is output with thedelay for two interleaving units. The existence of one delay line 430-11in corresponding row of delay unit 430 shows that interleaving unit IU1of each intermediate frame is output with the delay for one interleavingunit. The non-existence of the delay line in the corresponding row ofdelay unit 430 shows that interleaving unit IU0 of each intermediateframe is output without delay.

Frames OUT(p), OUT(p+1), and OUT(p+2) corresponding tooriginally-transmitted frames IN(m−2), IN(m−1), and IN(m) are restoredthrough the pieces of processing.

However, the description about the time interleaver and timedeinterleaver is only the logical description about the operation of thedevice and method of time interleaver 130 and the time deinterleaver.The implementation of the time interleaver and time deinterleaverimplemented by some methods in each of which units 310 to 330 and units410 to 430 are not always used. Particularly, data disposition and datamovement in the defined two-dimensional matrix are selected only for thepurpose of easily understanding the time interleaving processing andtime deinterleaving processing such that defined two-dimensionalmatrices are disposed at different spatial positions associated witheach other. In preferable implementation, physical recording of the datamay be systematized in a memory having a two-dimensional arraystructure. However, the data is not always physically rearranged asdescribed above, but the data may be simply logically rearranged using aproper addressing scheme.

The present disclosure provides a method for implementing the timeinterleaving and the time deinterleaving in association with reductionof usage of a resource, preferably reduction of usage of a memory in thetime deinterleaver. The reduction of the usage of the memory in the timedeinterleaver is effective in implementing the time interleaver on anelectronic device that can potentially be carried, and the reduction ofthe memory leads advantageously to the reduction of the size and cost.

The associated time interleaving and time deinterleaving will bedescribed below.

Exemplary Embodiment

FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration of an implementation example of atime interleaver according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The time interleaving performed by the time interleaver inFIG. 5 is hybrid interleaving in which the block interleaving and theconvolutional interleaving are combined.

Time interleaver 500 includes row-column block interleaver (BI₀) 510,block interleaver (BI₁) 520, and convolutional interleaver 530.Convolutional interleaver 530 logically includes switch 540, memoryunits (M_(1,0), M_(2,0), and M_(2,1)) 545-11, 545-21, and 545-22, andswitch 550. The output of row-column block interleaver 510 is connectedto the input of block interleaver 520, and the output of blockinterleaver 520 is connected to the input of convolutional interleaver530.

FIG. 5 illustrates only the logical display, but time interleaver 500 isnot physically constructed, namely, time interleaver 500 does notinclude a physical switch. However, it is clear for those skilled in theart that time interleaver 500 can be constructed with, for example, amemory and a processor.

Row-column block interleaver 510 in FIG. 5 will be described below.

Row-column block interleaver 510 includes a matrix having the number ofrows equal to N_(cells)/N_(IU) and the number of columns equal toN_(IU). Where N_(IU) is the number of interleaving units per frame, andN_(cells) is the number of cells per codeword. For example, N_(cells)=12and N_(IU)=3 are obtained for the frame structure in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6A illustrates an implementation example of row-column blockinterleaver 510 for N_(cells)=12 and N_(IU)=3. In the example of FIG.6A, 12 cells of a first codeword are input to row-column blockinterleaver 510 in the description order of 00, 01, 02, . . . , 09, 0A,and 0B.

As can be seen from FIG. 6A, row-column block interleaver 510 writes thecells 00 to 0B in the matrix in the column direction in the input order,and reads the cells 00 to 0B from the matrix in the row direction afterthe writing. As a result, the 12 cells of the first codeword are outputfrom row-column block interleaver 510 in the description order of 00,04, 08, 01, 05, 09, 02, 06, 0A, 03, 07, and 0B.

It is clear for those skilled in the art that the implementation ofrow-column block interleaver 510 is advantageously achieved using alinear memory block operated by an addressing scheme, which is describedin the DVB-T2 implementation guideline (NPL 2) or described in PTL 1.The entire contents of NPL 2 and PTL 1 are hereby incorporated byreference.

Particularly, the row-column block interleaver tracks a memory positionwhere the next cell is read, and reuses the memory position in order towrite the currently-input cell. More particularly, address a_((i,j)) ofan ith element of a jth time interleaving block is calculated based onMathematical Formula 1 and Mathematical Formula 2. The jth timeinterleaving block and the ith element correspond to each codewordincluding the N_(cells) cells (for the frame structure in FIG. 2, 12cells) and an ith cell of each codeword, respectively.a _((i,j))=(a _((i−1,j)) +k _((j)))mod M+(a _((i−1,j)) +k _((j)))divM  [Mathematical Formula 1]where k₍₀₎=1, a_((0,j))=0, M=Nr×Nc.

Where Nr is the number of rows, and Nc is the number of columns. As thecodeword is input, j is incremented by one like j=0, . . . , and i isincremented like i=0, . . . , N_(cells−1)−1 (for the frame structure inFIG. 2, 11). Nr and Nc correspond to N_(cells)/N_(IU) (for the framestructure in FIG. 2, 12/3=4) and N_(IU) (for the frame structure in FIG.2, 3), respectively.

In transmitter-side row-column block interleaver 510, k_((j)) iscalculated using Mathematical Formula 2.k _((j))=(k _((j−1)) ×Nr)mod M+k _((j−1))div Nc  [Mathematical Formula2]

One of advantages of the technique given by Mathematical Formula 2 isthat the cell can be written and read by one buffer, but that thewriting operation and the reading operation need not to be switchedbetween two buffers. This enables one block of a linear RAM (randomaccess memory) to be used in the row-column block interleaving, and therow-column block deinterleaving because of similarity thereto. In regardto that, memory sizes of the actual row-column block interleaver androw-column block deinterleaver can conceptually be equalized to eachother. For example, one memory block having a 12-cell memory space canbe used in order to perform the row-column block interleaving orrow-column block deinterleaving on one frame constructed with the 12cells.

Block interleaver 520 in FIG. 5 will be described below.

Block interleaver 520 includes a matrix having the number of rows equalto N_(cells) and the number of columns equal to N_(FEC_TI). WhereN_(cells) is the number of cells per codeword, and N_(FEC_TI) is thenumber of codewords per frame. For example, N_(cells)=12 andN_(FEC_TI)=2 are obtained for the frame structure in FIG. 2. Similarly,each of block interleavers 520A and 520B includes a matrix having thenumber of rows equal to N_(cells) and the number of columns equal toN_(FEC_TI).

FIG. 6B illustrates an implementation example of block interleaver 520for N_(cells)=12 and N_(FEC_TI)=2. In the example of FIG. 6B, the 12cells of the first codeword in one frame are input to block interleaver520 in the order output from row-column block interleaver 510, in thiscase, the description order of 00, 04, 08, . . . , 03, 07, and 0B. Thenthe 12 cells of the next codeword in the one frame are output to blockinterleaver 520 in the order output from row-column block interleaver510, in this case, the description order of 10, 14, 18, . . . , 13, 17,and 1B.

As illustrated in FIG. 6B, block interleaver 520 writes the cells 00 to0B of the initial codeword in the matrix in the column direction in theorder output from row-column block interleaver 510. Then, blockinterleaver 520 writes the cells 10 to 1B of the subsequent codeword inthe matrix in the column direction in the order output from row-columnblock interleaver 510. Block interleaver 520 reads the cells 00 to 0Band 10-1B written in the matrix from the matrix in the row direction. Asa result, the 24 cells of the first frame are output from blockinterleaver 520 in the description order of 00, 10, 04, . . . , 19, 02,. . . , 17, 0B, and 1B.

In this case, block interleaver 520 acts as the row-column blockinterleaver like row-column block interleaver 510. Accordingly thediscussion similar to that of row-column block interleaver 510 can beapplied to the implementation in which the addressing scheme given byMathematical Formulae 1 and 2 can be used. In the case that thediscussion is applied to block interleaver 520, the jth timeinterleaving block and the ith element correspond to each frameincluding N_(FEC_TI)×N_(cells) cells (for the frame structure in FIG. 2,2×12=24 cells) and ith cell of each frame, respectively. As the frame isinput, j is incremented by one like j=0, . . . , and i is incrementedlike i=0, . . . , N_(FEC_TI)×N_(cells−1)−1 (for the frame structure inFIG. 2, 2×12−1=23). Nr and Nc correspond to N_(cells) (for the framestructure in FIG. 2, 12) and N_(FEC_TI) (for the frame structure in FIG.2, 2), respectively.

Another implementation example of block interleaver (BI₁) in timeinterleaver 130 will be described below.

FIG. 6C illustrates another implementation example of block interleaver(BI₁) in the case identical to the numerical value example in FIG. 6B,namely, the case of N_(cells)=12 and N_(FEC_TI)=2. However, in FIG. 6C,block interleaver (BI₁) is illustrated as block interleaver 520A. It isassumed that the input cell in FIG. 6C is identical to the input cell inFIG. 6B.

In the present disclosure, it is clear that block interleaver 520A canbe implemented instead of block interleaver 520 in the case that blockinterleaver 520 is referred to.

As illustrated in FIG. 6C, block interleaver 520A writes the 12 cells 00to 0B of the initial codeword in the matrix in the order output fromrow-column block interleaver 510. Then, block interleaver 520A writesthe cells 10 to 1B of the subsequent codeword in the matrix in the orderoutput from row-column block interleaver 510. However, the cells 00 to0B and the cells 10 to 1B are not written in the column direction unlikeblock interleaver 520, but in a diagonal manner. Like block interleaver520, block interleaver 520A reads the cells 00 to 0B and cells 10 to 1B,which are written in the matrix, from the matrix in the row direction.Resultantly, as illustrated in FIG. 6C, block interleaver 520A outputsthe 24 cells of one frame in the description order of 00, 1B, 10, . . ., 09, 02, . . . , 13, 17, and 0B.

It is clear for those skilled in the art that the implementation ofblock interleaver 520A is advantageously achieved using a linear memoryblock operated by an addressing scheme, which is described in the DVB-C2specification (NPL 3). The entire content of NPL 3 is herebyincorporated by reference.

Particularly, the block interleaver tracks the memory position where thenext cell is read, and reuses the memory position in order to write thecurrently-input cell. More particularly, address a_((i,j)) of the ithelement of the jth time interleaving block is calculated based onMathematical Formula 3. The jth time interleaving block and the ithelement correspond to each frame including the N_(FEC_TI)×N_(cells)cells (for the frame structure in FIG. 2, 2×12=24 cells) and an ith cellof each frame, respectively.a _((i,j)) =Nc×r _((i,j)) +c _((i,j))  [Mathematical Formula 3]where

-   i=0, . . . , Nr×Nc−1-   c_((i,j))=mod (i,Nc)-   s_((i,j))=mod (j×c_((i,j)), Nr)-   r_((i,j))=mod (floor(i/Nc)−s_((i,j)), Nr)

Where Nr is the number of rows, and Nc is the number of columns. As theframe is input, j is incremented by one like j=0, . . . , and i isincremented like i=0, . . . , N_(FEC_TI)×N_(cells)−1 (for the framestructure in FIG. 2, 2×12−1=23). Nr and Nc correspond to N_(cells) (forthe frame structure in FIG. 2, 12) and N_(FEC_TI) (for the framestructure in FIG. 2, 2), respectively.

Still another implementation example of block interleaver (BI₁) in timeinterleaver 130 will be described below.

FIG. 6D illustrates still another implementation example of blockinterleaver (BI₁) in the case identical to the numerical value examplein FIG. 6B, namely, the case of N_(cells)=12 and N_(FEC_TI)=2. However,in FIG. 6D, block interleaver (BI₁) is illustrated as block interleaver520B. It is assumed that the input cell in FIG. 6D is identical to theinput cell in FIG. 6B.

In the present disclosure, it is clear that block interleaver 520B canbe implemented instead of block interleaver 520 in the case that blockinterleaver 520 is referred to.

As illustrated in FIG. 6D, block interleaver 520B writes the 12 cells 00to 0B of the initial codeword in the matrix in the column direction inthe order output from row-column block interleaver 510. Then, blockinterleaver 520B writes the cells 10 to 1B of the subsequent codeword inthe matrix in the column direction in the order output from row-columnblock interleaver 510. However, block interleaver 520B performs rowtwist processing before the cell is read. After performing the row twistprocessing, block interleaver 520B reads the cells 00 to 0B and thecells 10 to 1B from the matrix in the row direction.

In other words, the cells 00 to 0B of the codeword are written in thematrix in the column direction, and the cells 10 to 1B of the subsequentcodeword are written in the matrix in the column direction. The cells 00to 0B and 10 to 1B written in the matrix are diagonally read from thematrix.

Resultantly, as illustrated in FIG. 6D, the 24 cells of one frame areoutput from block interleaver 520B in the description order of 00, 14,08, . . . , 1, 04, . . . , 17, 0B, and 10.

Block interleaver 520B is advantageously implemented using linear memoryblock operated by the addressing scheme for tracking the memory positionwhere the next cell is read, the addressing scheme reusing the memoryposition in order to write the currently-input cell. More particularly,address a_((i,j)) of the ith element of the jth time interleaving blockis calculated based on Mathematical Formula 4. The jth time interleavingblock and the ith element correspond to each frame including theN_(FEC_TI)×N_(cells) cells (for the frame structure in FIG. 2, 2×12=24cells) and the ith cell of each frame, respectively.

[Mathematical Formula 4] Shift=Nc/2+1 for mod(Nc,2)==0 Shift=(Nc+1)/2for mod(Nc,2)==1 For j=0..N_frames−1{ S=mod(S-Shift,Nc) with S=0 if j==0For i=0..Nr×Nc−1{ R=mod(i,Nr) T=mod(s×R,Nc) C=mod(floor(i/Nr)−T,Nc)a_((i,j))=Nr×C+R } }

Where Nr is the number of rows, and Nc is the number of columns. Nr andNc correspond to N_(cells) (for the frame structure in FIG. 2, 12) andN_(FEC_TI) (for the frame structure in FIG. 2, 2), respectively.

Block interleavers 520A and 520B supplement a cell interleaver, have anadvantage replacing the cell interleaver therewith, or have an advantagethat block interleavers 520A and 520B are disposed in front ofrow-column block interleaver 510. Therefore, block interleavers 520A and520B are superior to block interleaver 520. Particularly, in theDVB-NGH, because the cell interleaver performs pseudo random permutationof the cell in the codeword, the cell interleaver needs to be disposedin front of row-column block interleaver 510. The cell interleave can beeliminated using block interleavers 520A and 520B.

Convolutional interleaver 530 in FIG. 5 will be described below.

Switches 540 and 550 move position of the connection destination by oneafter the N_(FEC_TI) cells pass. The number of positions connected tothe switch, namely, the number of branches in convolutional interleaver530 is equal to the number of interleaving units N_(IU).

For the frame structure in FIG. 2, namely, for N_(cells)=12,N_(FEC_TI)=2, and N_(IU)=3, FIG. 6E illustrates initial three steps ofswitch 540 and each output cell, and FIG. 6F illustrates the subsequentthree steps and each output cell. At this point, in FIGS. 6E and 6F, theoutput cell of block interleaver 520 in FIG. 6B is used as the inputcell, and the 24 cells for one frame arrive at switch 540 in thedescription order of 00, 10, 04, . . . , 19, 02, . . . , 17, 0B, and 1B.

As can be seen from FIGS. 6E and 6F, when the N_(FEC_TI) cells (2 cells)pass, switch 540 moves the connection destination from the topmost orsecond position to the position at one stage lower, or moves theconnection destination from the lowermost position to the topmostposition.

The cell output from switch 540 passes through the branch currentlyconnected to switch 540. The topmost branch does not include an delayelement, the branch lower than the topmost branch adds another delayelement to the branch at one higher stage, and the branch includes delayelements, such as 1, 2, 3, and 4, toward the bottom

Each delay element M_(x,y) acts as a FIFO (first in, first out) shiftregister, and includes N_(cells)/N_(IU)×N_(FEC_TI) memory cells. Forexample, for the frame structure of FIG. 2, namely, for N_(cells)=12,N_(FEC_TI)=2, and N_(IU)=3, each delay element M_(x,y) includes(12/3×2=) 8 memory cells. Delay element M_(x,y) corresponds to memoryunits 545-11, 545-21, and 545-22 in FIG. 5.

The cell passing through the branch arrives at switch 550. When theN_(FEC_TI) cells (2 cells) pass, switch 550 moves the connectiondestination from the topmost or second position to the position at onestage lower, or moves the connection destination from the lowermostposition to the topmost position.

FIG. 6G illustrates an outline of an operation example of convolutionalinterleaver 530 with respect to the initial three frames. In the output,storage contents of memory units 545-11, 545-21, and 545-22 proceed in astepwise manner, thereby generating an empty cell. Particularly, in theexample of FIG. 6G, three memory units 545-11, 545-21, and 545-22 retaina triple of 8 cells, namely, 24 cells in total corresponding to 24 emptycells in the output. The cells exist continuously from the cell 40.

It is clear for those skilled in the art that a ring buffer can be usedto implement the delay line or memory units 545-11, 545-21, and 545-22.The ring buffer has an advantage that a physical copy of the memory unitis avoided. In the method in which the ring buffer is used, powerconsumption is effectively suppressed, which results in a largeadvantage for the mobile device.

FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration of an implementation example of atime deinterleaver according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The time deinterleaving performed by the time deinterleaverin FIG. 7 is hybrid deinterleaving in which convolutional deinterleavingand block deinterleaving are combined.

Time deinterleaver 700 includes convolutional deinterleaver 730, blockdeinterleaver (BDI₁) 720, and row-column block deinterleaver (BDI₀) 710.Convolutional deinterleaver 730 logically includes switch 740, memoryunits (M_(1,0), M_(1,1), and M_(2,0)) 745-01, 745-02, and 745-11, andswitch 750. The output of convolutional deinterleaver 730 is connectedto the input of block deinterleaver 720, and the output of the blockdeinterleaver 720 is connected to the input of row-column blockdeinterleaver 710. Time deinterleaver 700 has a sufficiently symmetricalrelation to time interleaver 500.

Particularly, convolutional deinterleaver 730 is operated by the methodsufficiently similar to the operation in FIGS. 6E to 6G of convolutionalinterleaver 530 with respect to the number of cells retained by memoryunits 745-01, 745-02, and 745-11 and moving speeds of switches 740 and750.

Memory units 745-01, 745-02, and 745-11 includeN_(cells)/N_(IU)×N_(FEC_TI) memory cells. When the N_(FEC_TI) cellspass, switches 740 and 750 move the connection destination from thetopmost or second position to the position at one stage lower, or movethe connection destination from the lowermost position to the topmostposition.

The detailed description is omitted.

Row-column block deinterleaver 710 in FIG. 7 will be described below.

Row-column block deinterleaver 710 includes a matrix havingN_(cells)/N_(IU) rows and N_(IU) columns.

An implementation example of memory of row-column block deinterleaver710 has a symmetrical relation to row-column block interleaver 510, andis obtained using the memory in which the addressing scheme is used.That is, address a_((i,j)) of the ith element of the jth timeinterleaving block is calculated using Mathematical Formula 5 andMathematical Formula 6. The jth time interleaving block and the ithelement correspond to each codeword including the N_(cells) cells (forthe frame structure in FIG. 2, 12 cells) and the ith cell of eachcodeword, respectively.a _((i,j))=(a _((i−1,j)) +k _((j)))mod M+(a _((i−1,j)) +k _((j)))divM  [Mathematical Formula 5]where k₍₀₎=1, a_((0,j))=0, M=Nr×Nc

Where Nr is the number of rows, and Nc is the number of columns. As thecodeword is input, j is incremented by one like j=0, . . . , and i isincremented like i=0, . . . , N_(cells−1)−1 (for the frame structure inFIG. 2, 11). Nr and Nc correspond to N_(cells)/N_(IU) (for the framestructure in FIG. 2, 12/3=4) and N_(IU) (for the frame structure in FIG.2, 3), respectively.

In receiver-side row-column block deinterleaver 710, k_((j)) iscalculated using Mathematical Formula 6.k _((j))=(k _((j−1)) ×Nc)mod M+k _((j−1))div Nr  [Mathematical Formula6]

Block deinterleaver 720 in FIG. 7 will be described below.

Block deinterleaver 720 includes a matrix having N_(cells) rows andN_(IUFEC_TI) columns.

An implementation example of memory of block deinterleaver 720 has asymmetrical relation to block interleaver 520, and is obtained using thememory in which the addressing scheme is used. The addressing scheme isgiven by Mathematical Formulae 5 and 6 for deinterleaving addressing onthe receiver side as in row-column block deinterleaver 710. In the casethat the discussion is applied to block deinterleaver 720, the jth timeinterleaving block and the ith element correspond to each frameincluding N_(FEC_TI)×N_(cells) cells (for the frame structure in FIG. 2,2×12=24 cells) and ith cell of each frame, respectively. As the frame isinput, j is incremented by one like j=0, . . . , and i is incrementedlike i=0, . . . , N_(FEC_TI)×N_(cells)−1 (for the frame structure inFIG. 2, 2×12−1=23). Nr and Nc correspond to N_(cells) (for the framestructure in FIG. 2, 12) and N_(FEC_TI) (for the frame structure in FIG.2, 2), respectively.

In the case that block interleaver 520A is used, the block deinterleavercorresponding to block interleaver 520A is implemented using thefollowing addressing scheme. That is, address a_((i,j)) of the ithelement of the jth time interleaving block is calculated usingMathematical Formula 7. The jth time interleaving block and the ithelement correspond to each frame including the N_(FEC_TI)×N_(cells)cells (for the frame structure in FIG. 2, 2×12=24 cells) and the ithcell of each frame, respectively.a _((i,j)) =Nc×r _((i,j)) +c _((i,j))  [Mathematical Formula 7]where

-   i=0, . . . , Nr×Nc−1-   c_((i,j))=mod (i, Nc)-   s_((i,j))=mod (j×c_((i,j)), Nr)-   r_((i,j))=mod (s_((i,j))+floor(i/Nc), Nr)

Where Nr is the number of rows, and Nc is the number of columns. As theframe is input, j is incremented by one like j=0, . . . , and i isincremented like i=0, . . . , N_(FEC_TI)×N_(cells−1)−1 (for the framestructure in FIG. 2, 2×12−1=23). Nr and Nc correspond to N_(cells) (forthe frame structure in FIG. 2, 12) and N_(FEC_TI) (for the framestructure in FIG. 2, 2), respectively.

In the case that block interleaver 520B is used, the block deinterleavercorresponding to block interleaver 520B is implemented using thefollowing addressing scheme. That is, address a_((i,j)) of the ithelement of the jth time interleaving block is calculated usingMathematical Formula 8. The jth time interleaving block and the ithelement correspond to each frame including the N_(FEC_TI)×N_(cells)cells (for the frame structure in FIG. 2, 2×12=24 cells) and the ithcell of each frame, respectively.

[Mathematical Formula 8] Shift=Nc/2+1 for mod(Nc,2)==0 Shift=(Nc+1)/2for mod(Nc,2)==1 For j=0..N_frames−1{ S=mod(S-Shift,Nc) with S=0 if j==0For i=0..Nr×Nc−1{ R=mod(i,Nr) T=mod(s×R,Nc) C=mod(T+floor(i/Nr),Nc)a_((i,j))=Nr×C+R } }

Where Nr is the number of rows, and Nc is the number of columns. Nr andNc correspond to N_(cells) (for the frame structure in FIG. 2, 12) andN_(FEC_TI) (for the frame structure in FIG. 2, 2), respectively.

Simplified time interleaver and time deinterleaver according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.The time interleaver performs the hybrid interleaving in which the blockinterleaving and the convolutional interleaving are combined, and thetime deinterleaver performs the hybrid deinterleaving in which the blockdeinterleaving and the convolutional deinterleaving are combined.

Row-column block interleaver 510 is a conventional row-column blockinterleaver in the case that the number of cells per codeword N_(cells)is an integral multiple of the number of interleaving units N_(IU).However, in the case that the number of cells per codeword N_(cells) isnot an integral multiple of the number of interleaving units N_(IU), itis necessary to use the block interleaver that proceeds while skippingthe subsequent cell.

According to the DVB-NGH specification,L_((IU,min))=floor(N_(cells)/N_(IU)) holds. Where floor(x) is a maximuminteger that does not exceed x. N_(large)=mod(N_(cells),N_(IU)) andN_(small)=N_(IU)−N_(large) are obtained. The initial N_(large)interleaving units include L_((IU,min))+1 cells, and the next N_(small)interleaving units include L_((IU,min)) cells. As a result,N_(cells)=(L_((IU,min))+1)×N_(large)+L_((IU,min))×N_(small) is obtained.

FIG. 8 illustrates an outline of an example of the row-column blockinterleaver. It is seen that the block interleaver cannot directly beimplemented using the DVB-T2 addressing scheme in which the use of thememory is suppressed. In the measure of FIG. 8, it is necessary to skipover a predetermined cell, which results in a large-scale, complicatedlogic.

The inventor found that row-column block interleaver 510 and row-columnblock deinterleaver 710 constitute outer components of the whole timeinterleaver circuit and whole time deinterleaver circuit. Accordingly,row-column block interleaver 510 and row-column block deinterleaver 710can easily be removed from the time interleaver circuit and timedeinterleaver circuit without influencing the whole function and withoutdegrading the performance. FIG. 9 illustrates a simulation resultsupporting the fact found by the inventor.

FIG. 10 illustrates a configuration example of time interleaver 1000adaptable to the simulation result.

Referring to FIG. 10, time interleaver 1000 includes block interleaver(BI₁) 1020 and convolutional interleaver 1030, and convolutionalinterleaver 1030 includes switch 1040, a plurality of FIFO registers1045, and switch 1050. Each square block in convolutional interleaver1030 of FIG. 10 indicates FIFO register 1045. In switches 1040 and 1050,M_(i,j) denotes jth FIFO register 1045 that is provided in the branchbetween position i (1 to N_(IU-1)) on the side of switch 1040 andposition i (1 to N_(IU-1)) on the side of switch 1050.

Dispersion of the codeword is decided by switch 1040.

In an exemplary embodiment, after the N_(FEC-TI) cells pass, switch 1040moves so as to increment the position of the connection destination byone (0, 1, 2, . . . , N_(IU-2), N_(IU-1), 0, 1, . . . ). The operationof switch 1050 reproduces the operation of switch 1040. That is, afterthe N_(FEC-TI) cells pass, switch 1050 moves so as to increment theposition of the connection destination by one (0, 1, 2, . . . ,N_(IU)-2, N_(IU)-1, 0, 1, . . . ).

In the present disclosure, switches 1040 and 1050 are not limited to themovement in which the position of the connection destination isincremented by one after the passage of the N_(FEC_TI) cells, butanother increment can be performed. In the latter case, a size of eachFIFO register 1045 is adjusted. For example, in the case that switches1040 and 1050 switch while jumping every other position of theconnection destination (that is, in the case that switches 1040 and 1050move initially to all even-numbered positions 0, 2, 4, . . . and thenmove to all odd-numbered positions 1, 3, 5, . . . ), it is necessarythat FIFO registers (M_(i,j)) 1045, which are associated with initialN_(large) interleaving units and connected to initial N_(large)positions to which switch 1040 is connected, be memories for(L_((IU,min))+1)×N_(FEC_TI) memory cells. FIFO register (M_(i,j)) 1045,which are associated with other N_(small) interleaving units andconnected to other N_(small) positions to which switch 1040 isconnected, are memories for L_((IU,min))×N_(FEC_TI) memory cells. Thereis an advantage that the codeword spreads in a large time span.

All the possible implementations described in any block interleaverdescribed above, particularly block interleavers 520, 520A, and 520B canbe used in block interleaver 1020.

In the transmitter, each FIFO register (M_(i,j)) 1045 has the size of(L_((IU,min))+1)×N_(FEC_TI) memory cells in i=1, . . . , N_(large)−1 andj=1, . . . , and i, which are associated with the initial N_(large)interleaving units, and has the size of L_((IU,min))×N_(FEC_TI) memorycells in i=N_(large), . . . , N_(IU-1) and j=1, . . . , and i, which areassociated with the next N_(small) interleaving unit.

Time deinterleaver 1100 corresponding to time interleaver 1000 in FIG.10 reflects the function of time interleaver 1000. FIG. 11 illustrates aconfiguration example of time deinterleaver 1100.

Referring to FIG. 11, time deinterleaver 1100 includes convolutionaldeinterleaver 1130 and block deinterleaver (BDI₁) 1120, andconvolutional deinterleaver 1130 includes switch 1140, a plurality ofFIFO registers 1145, and a switch 1150. In FIG. 11, each square block inconvolutional deinterleaver 1130 indicates FIFO register 1145. Inswitches 1140 and 1150, M′_(i,i+k−1)=M′_(i,j) denotes kth FIFO register1145 that is provided in the branch between position i (0 to N_(IU)−2)on the side of switch 1140 and position i (0 to N_(IU)−2) on the side ofswitch 1150.

At this point, switches 1140 and 1150 operate according to switches 1040and 1050. That is, switches 1140 and 1150 switch the position of theconnection destination after the N_(FEC-TI) cells pass, and the positionswitching order is identical to that of switches 1040 and 1050. Thediscussion on block deinterleaver 720 is also applied to blockdeinterleaver 1120.

Depending on whether N_(cells) is an integral multiple of N_(IU), thesize of FIFO register (M′_(i,j)) 1145 differs from the size of FIFOregister (M_(i,j)) 1045 of the transmitter, FIFO register (M_(i,j)) 1045being paired with FIFO register (M′_(i,j)) 1145.

Particularly, in the case that N_(cells) is an integral multiple ofN_(IU), all FIFO registers 1145 have an identical size, namely,N_(cells)/N_(IU)×N_(FEC_TI).

Generally, in the case that N_(cells) is not an integral multiple ofN_(IU), FIFO register M′_(i,j) has the memory size of the(L_((IU,min))+1)×N_(FEC_TI) memory cells for i=0, . . . , N_(large)−1and j=i, . . . , N_(IU)−2, and has the memory size of theL_((IU,min))×N_(FEC_TI) memory cells for i=N_(large), . . . , N_(IU)−2and j=i, . . . , N_(IU)−2.

Block deinterleaver 1120 cancels block interleaver 1020. As described inblock deinterleaver 720, block deinterleaver 1120 can be constructedwith any one of the block deinterleavers based on one block of the RAMand the associated addressing scheme.

Because the delay line is encapsulated by the block interleaver and theblock deinterleaver, it is seen that the whole communication schemeconfronts only the block interleaver and the block deinterleaver.

As proposed in the exemplary embodiment, although the removal of theoutside row-column block interleaver (BI₀) 510 and row-column blockdeinterleaver (BDI₀) 710 changes the transmitter transmission sequencein FIG. 3C, there is an advantage that the implementation isfacilitated.

FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic simulation result in which performance ofthe DVB-NGH time interleaver is compared to performance of timeinterleaver 1000 of the exemplary embodiment. At this point, FIG. 9illustrates the performance using an error curve to a signal-to-noisepower ratio (SNR). As can be seen from FIG. 9, the performance of timeinterleaver 1000 does not degrade even if the outside row-column blockinterleaver (BI₀) 510 and row-column block deinterleaver (BDI₀) 710 areremoved, namely, the error curve associated with the DVB-NGH timeinterleaver agrees sufficiently with the error curve of time interleaver1000 of the exemplary embodiment.

The simulation in which the result is illustrated in FIG. 9 includes aRayleigh burst erasure channel accompanying a fixed erasure burstgenerated in a center period of the interleaved cell. The Rayleigh bursterasure channel emulates a propagation of radio communication passageaccompanying serious shadowing. An erasure rate (20% and 40%) isassociated with the time interleaving depth of the time interleaver. Thesimulation parameters are “modulation system: 256 non-uniform QAM”,“LDPC codeword length Nldpc=64800, coding rate 9/15”, “the number ofinterleaving unit: N_(IU)=15”, “the number of codewords per interleavingunit: N_(FEC_TI)=8”, and “the number of interleaving frames: 30”.

Although some exemplary embodiments are separately described above, itis clear for those skilled in the art that another exemplary embodimentcan be made by a combination of the exemplary embodiments.

(Supplement)

The communication method and the like are summarized below.

(1) A first time interleaver is a time interleaver that performs timeinterleaving that includes convolutional interleaving on a plurality ofcells. At this point, a convolutional interleaver that performs theconvolutional interleaving comprises: a first switch that switches aconnection destination of an input of the convolutional interleaver toone end of one of a plurality of branches, a number of which is same asa number of interleaving units on which a cell to be interleaved isdisposed; FIFO (first in, first out) memories provided in some of theplurality of branches except one branch, wherein a number of FIFOmemories is different among the plurality of branches except the onebranch; and a second switch that switches a connection destination of anoutput of the convolutional interleaver to another end of one of theplurality of branches. The first switch switches the connectiondestination of the input of the convolutional interleaver when theplurality of cells as many as the codewords per frame have passed, byswitching a corresponding branch of the connection destinationsequentially and repeatedly among the plurality of branches. The secondswitch switches the connection destination of the output of theconvolutional interleaver when the plurality of cells as many as thecodewords per frame have passed, by switching a corresponding branch ofthe connection destination sequentially and repeatedly among theplurality of branches.

(2) A first time deinterleaver is a time deinterleaver that performstime deinterleaving that includes convolutional deinterleaving on aplurality of cells. At this point, a convolutional deinterleaver thatperforms the convolutional deinterleaving comprises: a first switch thatswitches a connection destination of an input of the convolutionaldeinterleaver to one end of one of a plurality of branches, a number ofwhich is same as a number of interleaving units on which a cell to bedeinterleaved is disposed; FIFO (first in, first out) memories providedin some of the plurality of branches except one branch, wherein a numberof FIFO memories is different among the plurality of branches except theone branch; and a second switch that switches a connection destinationof an output of the convolutional deinterleaver to another end of one ofthe plurality of branches. The first switch switches the connectiondestination of the input of the convolutional deinterleaver when theplurality of cells as many as the codewords per frame have passed, byswitching a corresponding branch of the connection destinationsequentially and repeatedly among the plurality of branches. The secondswitch switches the connection destination of the output of theconvolutional deinterleaver when the plurality of cells as many as thecodewords per frame have passed, by switching a corresponding branch ofthe connection destination sequentially and repeatedly among theplurality of branches.

(3) A first time interleaving method is a time interleaving method forperforming time interleaving that includes convolutional interleaving ona plurality of cells. At this point, a time interleaver that performsthe time interleaving method comprises a convolutional interleaver thatperforms the convolutional interleaving, the convolutional interleavercomprises: a first switch that switches a connection destination of aninput of the convolutional interleaver to one end of one of a pluralityof branches, a number of which is same as a number of interleaving unitson which the cell to be interleaved is disposed; FIFO (first in, firstout) memories provided in some of the plurality of branches except onebranch, wherein a number of FIFO memories is different among theplurality of branches except the one branch; and a second switch thatswitches a connection destination of an output of the convolutionalinterleaver to another end of one of the plurality of branches. Thefirst switch switches the connection destination of the input of theconvolutional interleaver when the plurality of cells as many as thecodewords per frame have passed, by switching a corresponding branch ofthe connection destination sequentially and repeatedly among theplurality of branches. The second switch switches the connectiondestination of the output of the convolutional interleaver when theplurality of cells as many as the codewords per frame have passed, byswitching a corresponding branch of the connection destinationsequentially and repeatedly among the plurality of branches.

(4) A first time deinterleaving method is a time deinterleaving methodfor performing time deinterleaving that includes convolutionaldeinterleaving on a plurality of cells. At this point, a timedeinterleaver that performs the time deinterleaving method comprises aconvolutional deinterleaver that performs the convolutionaldeinterleaving, the convolutional deinterleaver comprises: a firstswitch that switches a connection destination of an input of theconvolutional deinterleaver to one end of one of a plurality ofbranches, a number of which is same as a number of interleaving units onwhich the cell to be deinterleaved is disposed; FIFO (first in, firstout) memories provided in some of the plurality of branches except onebranch, wherein a number of FIFO memories is different among theplurality of branches except the one branch; and a second switch thatswitches a connection destination of an output of the convolutionaldeinterleaver to another end of one of the plurality of branches. Thefirst switch switches the connection destination of the input of theconvolutional deinterleaver when the plurality of cells as many as thecodewords per frame have passed, by switching a corresponding branch ofthe connection destination sequentially and repeatedly among theplurality of branches. The second switch switches the connectiondestination of the output of the convolutional deinterleaver when theplurality of cells as many as the codewords per frame have passed, byswitching a corresponding branch of the connection destinationsequentially and repeatedly among the plurality of branches.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present disclosure can be used in the time interleaver thattime-interleaves the plurality of cells and the time deinterleavercorresponding to the time interleaver.

REFERENCE MARKS IN THE DRAWINGS

100 transmitter

110 input processing unit

120 BICM encoder

130 time interleaver

140 modulator

150 RF front end

160 antenna

310 delay unit

320 stacking unit

330 read unit

410 separating unit

420 destacking unit

430 delay unit

500 time interleaver

510 row-column block interleaver

520,520A,520B block interleaver

530 convolutional interleaver

540 switch

545-11,545-21,545-22 memory unit

550 switch

700 time deinterleaver

710 row-column block deinterleaver

720 block deinterleaver

730 convolutional deinterleaver

740 switch

745-01,745-02,745-11 memory unit

750 switch

1000 time interleaver

1020 block interleaver

1030 convolutional interleaver

1040 switch

1045 FIFO register

1050 switch

1100 time deinterleaver

1120 block deinterleaver

1130 convolutional deinterleaver

1140 switch

1145 FIFO register

1150 switch

The invention claimed is:
 1. A convolutional interleaver to interleave cells, comprising: an input terminal into which the cells are to be input from a block interleaver, the block interleaver including a matrix for block interleaving, the matrix having N columns, the cells being generated using low-density parity check (LDPC) coding; an output terminal from which the cells are to be output such that each of the cells is classified in any one of M interleaving units; a convolutional delay circuit comprising: M branches; and first in, first out (FIFO) registers to delay cells, a number of the FIFO registers provided in an M′th branch being M′−1, M′ being an integer from 1 to M; a first switch provided between the input terminal and the convolutional delay circuit; and a second switch provided between the convolutional delay circuit and the output terminal, wherein the first switch and the second switch are each configured to connect to an identical branch of the M branches such that the input terminal and the output terminal are connected via the identical branch, and wherein the first switch and the second switch are each configured to connect to an L+1th branch or a first branch when N cells are input into the input terminal while the first switch and the second switch each connect to an Lth branch, L being an integer from 1 to M.
 2. A convolutional interleaving method for interleaving cells, comprising: reordering the cells with a matrix having N columns for block interleaving, the cells being generated using low-density parity check (LDPC) coding; inputting the cells into a convolutional delay circuit via a first switch after the cells are reordered, the convolutional delay circuit comprising: M branches; and first in, first out (FIFO) registers to delay cells, a number of the FIFO registers provided in an M′th branch is M′−1, M′ being an integer from 1 to M; and outputting the cells from the convolutional delay circuit via a second switch such that each of the cells is classified in any one of M interleaving units, wherein the first switch and the second switch each connect to an identical branch of the M branches, and the first switch and the second switch each connect to an L+1th branch or a first branch when N cells are input into the convolutional delay circuit while the first switch and the second switch each connect to an Lth branch, L being an integer from 1 to M. 